The Kindergarten Chronicles
by Phenomenon
Summary: CH. 6 AU Kaede is a kindergarten teacher. Valentine's Day brings out the best-and the worst-of some of the kids.  This chapter has some kid fluff, aka aaaawwwww! A companion to Shoot the Birds, Squash the Bees.
1. A Lesson On Sharing

_Hello again! This is my answer to the major feedback I got for my last one-shot. This, however, will not necessarily be a one-shot itself. Before you read this, I strongly encourage that you read "Shoot the Birds, Squash the Bees" first, but should you decide not to, here's what you need to know; everyone except Kaede has been reduced to the age of five, besides Sesshomaru who is six. This makes my life a little easier._

_I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters._

**The Kindergarten Chronicles: A Lesson on Sharing**

Sesshomaru walked slowly down the sidewalk, now only a block away from school. Inuyasha, apparently in some sort of hurry, had run out the door before him, so he should have arrived ten minutes ago. The reason why, though, was beyond him; maybe he was racing Koga again. He didn't give it a second thought until, of course, he walked in and saw Inuyasha.

It was a sight to behold…at least for Sesshomaru. Inuyasha was sitting in the midst of basically the entire class. They were ogling while he was beaming stupidly, and Sesshomaru didn't know why, until he saw what he was holding. It looked like a strange cardboard cutout sword, weirdly thick and about as long as Inuyasha was tall. At the base of the "blade" were glued-on white feathers and cotton balls. Sesshomaru wanted to laugh, but instead he approached the crowd.

"What is this, little brother?" asked Sesshomaru in his almost monotone voice. Some of the students waved hello at the sight of him.

"Hey Sess!" Inuyasha jumped out of his seat. "Check out my sword! I made it last night. I call it Tetsusaiga! Pretty cool, huh?"

Sesshomaru couldn't help but smirk a little. "Inuyasha, can you spell 'Tetsusaiga?'"

Inuyasha paused, scrunching up his face in thought. After a few seconds, he screamed "That doesn't matter! This is the coolest sword ever!"

"Or maybe just cooler than that," Kagura said, pointing at the old beat up plastic sword that Sesshomaru was keeping on his belt/sash.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "If it was really the _coolest sword ever," _he said, giving a good imitation of Inuyasha's voice, "then it would be mine."

Inuyasha brought Tetsusaiga closer to his chest. "I'd like to see you try and take it."

"Maybe I will." They stared at each other for a moment, the other children shifting their eyes back and forth between brothers. Sesshomaru lunged without warning. Most were able to move out of the way before they were hit; others were knocked to the floor and crawled away from the scene. Inuyasha had fallen backwards in his chair, and Sesshomaru took that opportunity to grab the sword. They both tugged with all of their strength.

"Gimme that sword!"

"No way!"

"Give it!"

"NO!"

The morning bell rang. As soon as it did, every pair of eyes in the room shot towards the door. The children, mumbling a little, made their way toward their desks. Before Sesshomaru went to his desk, he pointed a mini claw at Inuyasha. "You win this round, little brother, but before the day is over, I will have Tetsusaiga." He released the sword and turned his back on him.

"Can you spell 'Tetsusaiga?'" Inuyasha mocked.

"Hmph." Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder. "I-D-I-O-T."

Koga, who was still straggling, looked at Sesshomaru like he was crazy. "Are you sure that's how you spell it?" he asked.

"Good morning class," Kaede said from the front of the class.

"Good morning, Miss Kaede," the class sang, bowing to her and then sitting down.

"It's so nice to see your smiling faces again. Now, if you'd please pass your homework to the front." There was shuffling of papers as the children fished their homework out of their bags. As Sesshomaru and Inuyasha passed their homework along, they shot glares at each other. One could practically see the sparks.

"Very good," Kaede said softly as she collected the stacks from each row. "Let's move right along into spelling."

Through the entire spelling lesson, the two brothers participated very little; they would answer a question or two, and then get right back to fuming or glaring at each other. A few of the more restless children were watching this silent display.

"Nicely done, class," Kaede said, smiling brightly. "Any questions? Yes, Miroku?"

Miroku put his hand down and hopped to his feet. "Miss Kaede, who gives the mailman his mail?"

Kaede tensed; all eyes, save for Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's, were on Miroku.

"Yeah!" The affirmative came from Kikyo. The uproar was massive as usual. Kaede squeezed her eyes shut, as if she were about to be struck.

"Is there a mailman for a mailman?" Kagome asked.

"I don't think so," Naraku said, more to himself than anyone else. The debate ensued for about five minutes until Kaede was finally able to get a word in.

"Now, this isn't positive, Miroku, but I would think that the mailman would simply pick up his mail at the end of the day."

"Ohhhhh," the class said in unison, letting go of their former opinions.

"It's snack time," Kaede said, looking at the clock on the wall. "To the tables, children."

"Yes, Miss Kaede." They all began to clamber to the round tables at the other end of the classroom. Inuyasha cleverly waited for Sesshomaru to leave the immediate area before making his way there himself.

Among the "feast" of apple slices and half pint milks, the children began to talk about the Tetsusaiga.

"It's too big and bulky to get anything done," Kanna said quietly.

"It feels pretty light to me," Inuyasha answered.

"Well, strong demons like me don't need swords to mess stuff up," Koga said haughtily. Ayame and a few other girls rolled their eyes.

"I think I'd use more than a sword in a real fight," Sango said.

"I'd use mystic power," Naraku said with a sinister look in his eyes…well, as sinister a look that a kindergartener can muster up.

"Riiiight," Ginta said from across the table. He then leaned towards Hakkaku and whispered, "Someone's been watching too much Power Rangers." Hakkaku giggled. At this point in time, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were at least acting civil with each other.

"Come along, children, it's time to start back up again."

"Aww." Many of them took their sweet time throwing away their scraps and getting back to their desks anyway.

The time passing for Sesshomaru was slow and painful. He could hardly remember math and story time, and by the time song time had arrived, he was watching the clock like a hawk, as were a few of the other children. He waited and waited as patiently as he could, until…

_Brrriiing!_

Recess. Finally. He could pursue Tetsusaiga with little interruption now. Smiling, he looked around to see that Inuyasha was already outside. His smile immediately turned into a scowl. Inuyasha wasn't making this easy. Oh well, it wouldn't take him long to get Inuyasha and that Tetsusaiga.

On the playground, the kids were scattered all over the place. Some were on the slide, some on the swings, a few in the sandbox, and Inuyasha on a bench, holding Tetsusaiga close.

"Aha!" Sesshomaru cried triumphantly, running to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha's ears twitched and he turned just in time to see Sesshomaru take off. "Uh-oh," he said, and got to his feet, running almost instantly.

The two ran through half of the playground before Sesshomaru, being older and stronger, was able to catch up. Once he was at a good distance, he pounced on Inuyasha, and both of them fell to the ground.

"That sword is mine!" Sesshomaru yelled, trying to wrench Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha's hands.

"NOOOOO!" By now, everyone on the playground had heard the ruckus, and neared the boys to investigate.

"Should we do something?" Sango asked Kagome, eyeing them cautiously as they both rolled around.

Kagome shook her head. "Nah. Not yet."

"What is going on here?" Kaede's voice rang clearly outside. Upon seeing Kaede, the two scrambled to get up and hide the sword behind their backs. It was, of course, a lost cause.

"Nothing, Miss Kaede," Inuyasha and Sesshomaru said quietly, not making eye contact.

Kaede put her hands on her hips. "Ayame?"

"Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are fighting over a toy sword," Ayame answered happily.

"Tsk tsk tsk…I thought I taught you better," Kaede said sternly. Both still had their heads down.

"I think it's time we all learn a lesson on sharing," Kaede continued. She looked up to see that the entire class was standing nearby. "Alright children! We are going to learn a new song! Repeat after me:

_Care to share_

_Things I can lend,_

_Care to share_

_The time I spend,_

_Care to share_

_With everyone,_

_Care to share_

_It's so much fun!"_

The class haphazardly began to sing; Kaede sang along in case they forgot the words. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru merely mumbled. "Very good," she complimented, while approaching the two guilt-stricken boys. "I hope you've learned your lesson," she started, "but in case you haven't, I think the both of you should take turns holding the sword. It would be a lot easier than fighting over it."

"Yes, Miss Kaede," they said automatically. She smiled at them.

"Time to go back inside, class." The children shuffled their feet into the classroom. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha watched them until the last one, being Koga, walked inside, whistling the sharing song the whole way.

"You know," Inuyasha said, giving a sidelong glance to his brother, "I don't plan on letting you hold _my _sword, don't you?"

"I wouldn't dream of it, little brother," Sesshomaru answered, "I'd rather have it all the time or never." And with that, they both reentered the classroom, tugging on Tetsusaiga the whole way.

Kaede had already started her lesson when they sat down, but they were still able to discreetly fight over the sword for a full fifteen minutes before anyone noticed, let alone the teacher.

"So class, what would-" Kaede noticed that she no longer had the attention of her students. It didn't take her long to find the point of origin. _What would the chances be that they learned their lesson the first time? _She finished her sentence in her mind.

"Sesshomaru." He jerked his head forward. "Inuyasha." He did the same. "I think you need to join me up here and sing our sharing song for us one more time." They both cringed, but walked to the front of the class, carrying Tetsusaiga between them.

"Well?" Kaede prompted. Inuyasha tugged on the sword and began to sing.

"Care…to SHARE!"

"Things I can…LEND!" Sesshomaru tugged back.

"Care!"

"To SHARE!"

"The TIME!"

"I!"

"SPEND!" At this point, they were tugging as hard as they could, but they both kept singing, now in unison:

"Care to share with EV-'RY-ONE!!" They cut the song short to exert all of their efforts in seizing the sword. Sango and Kagome exchanged looks; Kagome nodded and armed herself with an oversized glove.

Kaede shook her head, not really wanting to involve herself with this sword epidemic. "Boys, I don't want to have to put you in-"

"I got it, Miss Kaede!" Kagome interrupted, crossing to the front of the class. She stopped right in front of tug-o-sword, and with hardly an effort, she plucked it from between them using her gloved hand, and sent them each falling backwards.

Inuyasha got up first, watching Kagome head for the back door. "Hey! Come back here, woman! That's my sword! My-"

"Inuyasha, would you just sit down!" Inuyasha wasn't sure why, but he instantly obliged.

After a few minutes, Kagome came back, the glove gone, dusting off her hands. Kaede gave her a pat on the head. "Good job, Kagome." She turned to the class. "OK, it's craft time!"

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha went back to their seats together.

"It was such an awesome sword," Inuyasha mumbled.

"Too bad we'll never see it again," Sesshomaru replied. They both knew he was right, because they knew that Kagome was the best hider in kindergarten, and it was highly probable that they would never see the likes of that sword for a very long time.

Oh, how right they were.

_There it is! I know it was a bit lengthy, but I hope you liked it! As always, I am open to constructive criticism and suggestions. I am sure this will be the first (or second) of many! Review please, thanks! _


	2. A New Student

_Hey, I'll keep this part short for a change. I wouldn't say I do a lot of bashing…maybe I'll change that, if only for one chapter…where's my Mary-Sue?_

_I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters._

**Kindergarten Chronicles: A New Student**

"Good morning class," Kaede began, starting off the day as she usually does.

"Good morning, Miss Kaede," the class responded. They all bowed and took their seats.

"Before we begin, I'd like to introduce you to someone," Kaede said, moving towards the door. The children's eyes followed her curiously. She opened the door and in walked a little girl. But not just any girl; she was unlike any girl these kids had ever seen. Her walk gave the impression that she was floating on air. She turned to the class and gave a smile that was, strangely, without missing teeth or gaps. She had a soft, angelic face that housed two eyes that sparkled like the cerulean waters of Hawaii. Her golden locks of hair that cascaded down her back were restrained with a braid. The girl, now sure that everyone had had enough time to bask in her perfection, raised a beautifully manicured hand and waved.

"Go on," Kaede patted the girl on her shoulder, "tell the class your name, and where you're from."

The girl looked at the teacher, then back at her class. "My name is Mary-Sue! I'm from Perfectsboro, USA!"

"Hello, Mary-Sue," the class crooned in unison.

"Hi!" she replied with an almost too bubbly energy.

"Here is your seat, dear," Kaede said, and pointed to the only empty seat in the classroom.

"Thank you," Mary-Sue said respectfully, and made her way to her desk. After a few effortless seconds, Mary-Sue was ready for class, her paper, pencil, and a bright red apple (perfect like her) arranged perfectly on the desktop. Her hands were folded neatly on top of her desk, and the look was finished with a bright halo hovering a few inches over her head.

"Alright, Mary-Sue," Kaede said with a smile, "If you get lost or don't understand, you can always ask me or your classmates-"

"It's OK, Miss Kaede," Mary-Sue interrupted sweetly, "I'm sure that I can easily keep up, regardless of my late entrance." Her pride was practically pouring out of her porcelain-like skin.

"All the same, the offer still stands." And without a second glance, Kaede turned to the board and began her lesson. Mary-Sue's smile wavered a little; she'd received no praise for her obvious intelligence, and it gave her a strange feeling. She wasn't used to not getting any recognition. This disturbing event triggered another memory from before: as she introduced herself, she heard no gasps of adorations, sighs of awe, nothing! This could be more serious than she thought. Before she jumped to conclusions, though, it might be best if she made completely sure of her suspicions.

Thinking quickly, Mary-Sue scanned the room. Those sparkling blue eyes widened in shock as she realized that the whole class, curse them, was either paying attention to the lesson or simply not paying attention to her. It was unspeakably vile, and it needed to change right away. She sought out the nearest boy, who happened to be Inuyasha.

"Psst!" Inuyasha turned to the sound, a look of confusion in his eyes.

"Hi!" Mary-Sue said brightly, fluttering her extra-long eyelashes.

"Uh, hi." He gave her a look that was something close to scathing before turning back to the lesson on the board.

Mary-Sue was completely taken aback now. This couldn't be happening! How could this five-year-old boy avoid immediately falling in love with her? It was pure madness, but she wasn't ready to give up just yet.

"Psst!" Inuyasha looked truly annoyed now.

"Don't you like me, Inuyasha?" Her sudden telepathic powers were the reason she knew his name.

"Feh! You're okay…for a girl." Mary-Sue could hide her shock no longer.

"What!" she hissed at him.

"Pay attention, children," Kaede said, a warning tone in her voice. Inuyasha channeled the warning directly to the source.

"See what you've done! You got us in trouble! Geez, stupid girls."

Mary-Sue could feel herself shaking in her seat. She certainly wasn't finished with this epidemic, but if the teacher wanted her to pay attention, she could oblige. Maybe she could fix this problem from another angle…

So Mary-Sue began to flaunt her aforementioned intelligence, being sure to raise her hand quickest, of course giving the correct answer and often giving a detailed explanation. This was sure to get her classmate's adoration.

"Yes, Mary-Sue?"

"The answer is 4."

"That is correct." Kaede gave a genuine smile. "You're doing very well, Mary-Sue, but why don't you let the other kids have a chance to answer the questions?"

"O-of course, Miss Kaede." She slowly sat down, feeling as if her perfect world was crashing right in front of her. She'd been no less than perfect, a model student, and she _still _had no one worshipping, glorifying, or exalting her.

What kind of a fanfiction was this?

It was her one hope that recess would get here quickly. Luckily for her, some Mary-Sue powers were still unfailing, and recess came instantly.

The class ran happily outside; Mary-Sue, however, took her time getting up. "Time to work some magic," she told herself as a few sparks flew from her fingers. With her new drive to end her failing streak, she sauntered outside.

On the playground, a good-sized group of children were huddled on the outside of the open field. Sango spotted Mary-Sue and ran up to her.

"Hey Mary-Sue! We're about to play Tag, are you in?"

"Certainly!" Mary-Sue replied, putting her hands on her already developing hips. "But I must warn you, I am one of the best when it comes to Tag."

"Oh," Sango said, "Well, if that's the case, TAG! You're it!" She tagged her on her shoulder, then turned on her heel and ran, the children scattering as well.

Mary-Sue gave a smile that would almost seem devious, and ran at full speed towards them. The one that she caught up with first was Koga. When she focused her efforts she was easily able to tag him on his arm. Now she turned and ran, knowing that her touch should get him to forget about the rest of the kids.

But he didn't. In fact, she felt like _she_ was the one that was forgotten. It looked like he was chasing Kagome now, and it was beyond belief. How could this plan, which had never failed before, fail miserably now? She had to end this.

"STOP!" Mary-Sue screamed at the top of her lungs. The sound could easily rival a rock concert decibel level. The whole playground stopped what they were doing to look at her curiously.

"Here we go again," Inuyasha said with exasperation, and stalked off.

The look in her eyes was truly sinister. "It's time you all had a change of heart," she announced, cracking her knuckles. "You." She pointed at Kagome. "Fight me," she finished.

"What?" Kagome said incredulously.

"Fight me!" Mary-Sue snarled, getting more annoyed by the second. "You are obviously the most respected girl around here, so it is you I must fight."

"No way, Jose," Kagome said, walking closer to her.

"You _will _fight me!" Mary-Sue said, shaking again.

"I will not," Kagome said defiantly.

"Will too!"

"Will NOT!"

"Will TOO!" Mary-Sue was just about to lose it when she regained her control. "Listen," she said almost pleadingly, "It's in my nature. I'm a Mary-Sue, for Pete's sake! Being perfect just isn't enough. I need followers, servants, slaves! Girls want to be me! Boys want to be with me!"

"Eww" was the comment she received for her last statement.

"Perfect, you say?" Sesshomaru inquired.

"Of course!" Mary-Sue replied, looking a bit frazzled. "I'm more of a techno-geek than Kagome-"

"Hey! I am NOT a techno-geek!"

"-A more skilled taijiya than Sango-"

"That wouldn't come as a surprise since I JUST STARTED LEARNING!"

"-More perverted than Miroku-"

"Perverted?" You could practically see the question mark above his head. "Miss Kaede!"

"-More doglike than Inuyasha-"

Of course, Inuyasha was nowhere to be found…

"-And more bouncing and annoying than Shippo!"

"Shippo?" Kagome repeated.

"Who's that?" the whole class asked in unison.

Mary-Sue's jaw dropped. "You can't tell me that you don't know who Shippo…oh wait," she realized, smacking her forehead, "He hasn't been born yet. Nevertheless, all will swoon, all will envy, and YOU will fight me!"

"Puh-lease, Mary-Sue," Kagome said, "Everyone knows fighting is for big losers." On the word "losers", everyone except Mary-Sue made the loser sign on their foreheads.

"Are you kidding?" Mary-Sue was almost speechless. "This is supposed to be a violent anime, with lots of blood and impalement-"

"-And it normally would be," interrupted Kaede, who'd been oblivious up to this moment, "But this is a kindergarten AU. Dress-up and naptime solves everything." The children silently agreed.

Mary-Sue didn't need to hear anymore. "Oh, we are SO outta here! PARENTS!" A couple of perfect-looking adults were at her side. "No more kindergarten AU's, please?" And with that, all three were gone in a flash.

For a while, there was an awkward silence, until Koga spoke: "So how about that naptime?"

"Yeah, I'm beat." More affirmatives followed all the way back in the classroom.

_(Sighs) This was more difficult than I thought. Well, I feel violated now; I certainly hope you got a laugh. I totally gagged while I wrote Mary-Sue's first description. But seriously, the same goes as before, I'll take constructive criticism, I'm open to more chapter ideas, and don't be afraid to review, really! Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go take a shower…_


	3. Clothes Don't Make the Kid

_Hey guys! Sorry if this update took a while; I had a small case of writer's block. Uh, yeah, there's nothing much else to say._

_I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters._

**The Kindergarten Chronicles: Clothes Don't Make the Kid**

"Have a seat, class, I have some important news." Immediately, every child's attention was on Kaede. They'd all heard Kaede tell of news before, and most times, it wasn't the best of news…

_Flashback_

"Alright, children, I have some news for you," Kaede started one morning.

"What is it, Miss Kaede?"

"Well," Kaede examined the paper in her hand, "It looks like the school has announced a bake sale. So everyone go home tonight and bake something that you can bring tomorrow and sell, ok?" The children nodded obediently. "Very good. Show this paper to your parents."

The next day, something unplanned happened.

"Peanut butter cookies! I told you, _I _was gonna do peanut butter cookies!"

"Who cares? I make what I want!"

"Those brownies look disgusting."

"Don't you talk about my brownies!"

"Hey! Hands off my special cake!"

"Children? Children, please!" But it was already out of control.

The whole class lost recess that day. Of course, there came more "news" incidents:

"_There's news, children! We'll be putting on a play! You'll be trying on your costumes today." _Those costumes were quite possibly the most gruesome assortment of clothes on the planet. That was the day Inuyasha said his first curse word.

"_I have news, class. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but I've received word that we'll soon be losing our period of time set for recess…that's right, recess will be gone soon…I'm kidding! Happy April Fool's Day!" _She didn't speak soon enough to prevent the damage. There wasn't a dry eye in the classroom. Even Sesshomaru was starting to well up.

_End Flashback_

Needless to say, the children were worried.

"Here we are," Kaede said after rummaging for a paper on her desk. "It says here that, effective immediately, the school will have a new dress code, and students must start wearing uniforms." A soft buzz traveled around the room.

"Uniforms?" Ayame repeated, "Like the ones my older sister has to wear?" Kaede nodded. Ayame's expression instantly changed. "Rats! I was hoping not to wear those until at least first grade!"

"Uniforms can be fun!" Kagome chimed in. "Maybe our uniforms will be so much fun that we'll wanna wear them all the time, even at home!"

"I don't know about that, Kagome," said Sango.

"I can't wait!" Miroku exclaimed, almost bursting with excitement. "I'll wear anything besides these stupid robes my parents make me wear." He adjusted the collar upon mentioning it. "I mean, what man wears purple anyway?"

"Um, Miroku…you're a kid," said Inuyasha, giving him a strange look.

"Whatever, just no more purple."

"If I may have your attention for a few moments more," Kaede called. The children stopped their chit-chat. "Right now, I'm giving you a paper with the uniform information. Boys get the blue paper; girls get the pink. Don't forget to show your parents."

"Yes, Miss Kaede."

"You are dismissed. I'll see you after the weekend, in your uniforms!" Kaede smiled as the children rushed out of the door.

-

A few days later, the class regrouped for another week of learning, only this time sporting the same look. The girls wore a standard sailor suit uniform, complete with a knee-length black skirt, a white blouse with a black sailor collar, and a red neckerchief. The boys wore a traditional black _gakuran_.

"Very good! Everyone remembered!" Kaede said brightly. "Now, I know it will be a bit uncomfortable, but soon your uniforms will become a part of your routine."

"I think I was happier before," Sango murmured, her chin propped on her hands. She was wearing hot pink leggings. "I never really liked skirts."

"How could you not love this outfit, Sango?" Kagome piped up, smoothing her skirt. "The only thing that could make this better is if it were green!"

Over at the boys' side, Miroku tried flexing his skinny arms while the rest looked on with boredom. "Finally! Some manly clothes!" he exclaimed. He stopped his one-man show to look over at the girls. "And the ladies look good, too." There was a collective gasp.

"The ladies look _what?_" Naraku asked incredulously.

"Miroku! Snap out of it!" Inuyasha ran to Miroku and slapped him hard across the face. Miroku stood frozen for a few seconds, and then finally shook his head vigorously.

"Thanks, Inuyasha. I needed that." He brushed off his shirt before turning to his desk. "I don't know, boys, I still might be too macho for these girls to keep away."

"Wow, Miroku," Ginta finally managed to say, "You're acting like that 'P' word we learned a long time ago. Uh…" Ginta turned to Hakkaku, who in turn faced Koga. "What was that 'P' word again?"

"Ooh! I know this!" Koga said, a light in his eyes. "It was…puh…pih, per, perrr…lecher! That's what it was!"

"Yeah! Miroku's a lecher!" Ginta and Hakkaku cried in the affirmative.

"Alright children, settle down," Kaede said. "Now, let's get started in today's lessons, shall we?"

-

The recess bell rang soundly in the classroom. The children all hopped out of their seats and rushed for the door. Ayame tried to follow suit, but was held back when her skirt snagged on a jagged part of her desk.

"Ah! No way! Evil desk! Evil uniform!" she wailed while tugging on her skirt with all of her strength.

"Wait! Stop, Ayame!" Kaede said hurriedly, moving as quickly as she could to free the child from the snag.

"Look out, Miss Kaede! Before he gets you too!" Ayame said, blinking back tears.

"It's okay. See?" Kaede said, pointing out Ayame's regained freedom.

"Ooh," Ayame breathed, the bafflement apparent on her face. "Y-you don't think it only eats uniforms…do you?"

"Oh come now, Ayame," Kaede said heartily. Her smile made Ayame feel even worse. With abnormal speed, the girl turned heel and zoomed out of the classroom and onto the playground.

"We're doomed! Doomed, I tell you! The desks will eat us _and _our uniforms!"

"What in the world are you talking about, Ayame?"

_15 minutes earlier…_

Most of the children dispersed upon getting outside. A handful stuck by the doorway. Inuyasha stood in front of the stragglers.

"Okay people, the name of the game is Freeze tag. Who's in?"

"Me!" went everyone in the group.

"Alright then, let's see who's It…" After a few rounds of eenie-meenie-minie-mo, the group determined Sango to be It first.

"Here I come!" Sango yelled to a seemingly empty field. She didn't run off immediately, but looked at the area to see who she could go after first. There was a shoe and an elbow behind the bushes, a pant leg around the corner, and a tuft of hair behind the tree. "Oh man! Everyone looks the same!" she whined. "Ah well. I'll just chase them all." And with that, she took off for the bushes.

Kagome saw Sango coming and abandoned her hiding spot, screaming all the way. Sango smirked and set her targets right on Kagome. She knew the poor girl was prone to reveal everyone else in her quest to get away, and sure enough, their path weaved them through all of the others.

"Uh-oh," Koga said as they neared the tree. He ran off before the two could reach him.

"Hmph." Inuyasha ran in the same direction as Koga when Kagome and Sango rounded the corner. Soon, almost everyone was discovered.

Miroku silently looked around to see if he was safe. The coast looked clear, until Sango came stampeding toward him from the left. He jumped up and tried to run, but tripped on some uneven ground. While picking himself up, Sango tagged him and moved on. He continued to get on his feet anyway. When he started brushing himself off, he saw it.

"Aaahhh!" Miroku's scream stopped everyone in their tracks. He pointed to his right knee. "Grass stain! No!"

Sango scoffed and started pursuit again.

"Since when did you care about a grass stain?" This came from Sesshomaru, who was tagged in his inattentive state.

"Since now, when my pimp status is going down!" was the reply.

"Pimp…status?" asked Kagome. She was tagged.

"Ha! Miroku really _is _going crazy!" Inuyasha was tagged.

"I gotta keep up my look for the lay-days!" Most of the girls snickered; others bellowed with laughter.

"Miroku! Girls have cooties!" Koga warned. He was tagged.

"I'll take my chances."

"But I won't. Don't you think of touching me; it looks like your cooties are in your brain now." Kagura was tagged.

"This game is over." Sango stood proudly among the frozen children. "And now, to make sure I don't catch Miroku's cooties." She walked to the door that lead inside, and was about to open it when Ayame came bursting out.

"We're doomed! Doomed, I tell you! The desks will eat us _and _our uniforms!"

"What in the world are you talking about, Ayame?" Sango asked curiously. The others gathered around her.

"T-the desk, inside," Ayame began shakily. She shifted her eyes, then dropped her voice down to a whisper. "It tried to eat me!"

"It what?"

"But I was too big!" she continued, her voice steadying. "So it tried to eat my uniform!" She showed them the stretched threads at the hem of her skirt. A few of the kids gasped. "Miss Kaede was the one who saved me, but if we all sit back down, she couldn't save us all!"

"No, she couldn't!" a child agreed.

"My pimp status!"

"Shut up, Miroku."

"So, what are we supposed to do about this?" Sango urged.

"I-I don't know," Ayame answered, looking down, "but we can't sit back in the desks. We can't even stand by them!"

The children all cautiously agreed to this as the bell rang. True to their word, they would hover around the general area of the desks but would keep at least 4 feet away. Thus, the class was formed like an amoeba at the back of the room.

"Come along, children; take your seats," Kaede said, eyeing the kids strangely. The children mumbled inaudible replies, but would not move any closer.

Kaede walked toward them through the desks. "What has gotten into you kids?" Some of the children's eyes went wide; others gasped in horror.

"No! It's okay! She's not wearing a uniform," Ayame told her peers. Kaede looked at her with realization.

"So you don't want to sit at your desks?" she concluded. The children shook their heads. "Fine."

"What?" the class said, although they knew it may have been out of line.

"If you don't want to use the desks, then that's fine," Kaede reiterated, moving every desk to a side of the room. The children only watched in awe; they were too afraid to help her. After a substantial opening was made in the middle of the room, she moved to one of the top cupboards in the corner of the room. "Pick up your bags, if you please, children," she called over her shoulder while she removed a large rolled-up quilt. They quickly obliged.

"Hey, Miroku, what's that?" Inuyasha asked, pointing at the thing that'd just fallen out of his bag.

"Oh, that? It's just a book my dad's been reading to me." Miroku picked it up and handed it to Inuyasha. "Maybe you can get your dad to read it to you too. I know it changed my life!" And with that, he continued moving his bag.

Inuyasha closely examined the cover of the book with a couple more boys standing behind him. "What? Make…out…para-dees?"

"It's 'paradise,'" Kagura corrected.

"The bedtime stories?" Inuyasha finished reading. "Man, I have no idea what that means, but it sounds sick!" He dropped the book. Luckily, the pages did not fall open. "This has gotta be where Miroku got his cooties from." The revelation compelled everyone who'd been standing around the book to go wash their hands.

At this time, the quilt was laid on the ground and Kaede had taken her place by the board. "Have a seat, class," she said. The children did so. Ayame raised her hand.

"Yes Ayame?"

"Can we sit on the quilt everyday, Miss Kaede?"

Kaede smiled. "Well, I don't know about every single day, but we can do it more often if you like."

Ayame chanced a glimpse at the desks on either side of her. "O-ok…well then, do we have to keep wearing our uniforms?"

"Yeah, I don't like them anymore," Koga agreed.

"I never liked them," Sango put in.

"Well, my pimp status is shot anyway…"

"Would you stop with that 'pimp status' stuff?"

"I'm sorry, children," Kaede interrupted quickly, "but I don't have the power to get rid of your uniforms."

"Aw," was the class reply.

"But I can introduce Casual Fridays!"

"Yay!"

Ayame's expression didn't change. "But what about-"

"Don't worry. By tomorrow, I'll have tamed all of these desks," Kaede said with a wink. That got Ayame to smile. "May I start the lesson now?" The children nodded. "Very good. Let's learn a little subtraction."

_Wowee, did that take a long time! I might need to practice a little more self-control next time, but I was really trying to get all my ideas for this chapter in here. Which reminds me…_

_I don't own Naruto, any of its characters, concepts, book ides, etc._

_It'd be awesome if I could get some more ideas for this. I've got a couple more rolling around in my head, but after that, it's writer's block time again._

_gakuran...traditional military style male Japanese school uniform_

_Read and review, if you please._


	4. Show and Hell

_Alright, let's get right into the swing of things. I apologize for the hiatus; I was doing a bit of prioritizing. You know the drill._

_I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters._

**The Kindergarten Chronicles: Show and Hell**

"Good morning class," Kaede said for the umpteenth time in her life.

"Good morning, Miss Kaede," answered the half of the class that was actually paying attention. Kaede couldn't help but smile at this. The children were buzzing with excitement because today was Show and Tell. It was an event that didn't happen that often, but the class always looked forward to it. Even Kaede was a little excited; things like these always showed how innovative her students were.

"I think we're ready to begin," Kaede said mostly to herself as she drew a slip of paper from a fish bowl. Determining order at random was best for excitable situations like this. "You're first, Kagura."

"Right." Kagura made her way to the front of the classroom, seemingly empty-handed. The rest of the kids watched her curiously. "Okay," she said hurriedly, "I'm going to show you what I can do with my feather." She plucked the feather from her hair and showed it to everyone. "Nothing up my sleeves," she added while rolling up the sleeves of her kimono. She raised the feather as high as she could, and then let it drop. All eyes followed the descent of the tiny feather, until it just about hit the ground. Before it did, there was a flash and a strong gust of wind. The next moment, Kagura was sitting on a large floating feather that was five times long as she was tall. There were a few "oohs" of admiration, followed by applause. Kagura gave a small bow and rode the feather to the back of the class.

"Boring!" called a student that couldn't be pinpointed.

"Mind your manners, children," Kaede said. She glanced at the next name. "Koga, go ahead."

Koga stood in front of the class, holding a sword in a sheath. He removed the sheath to reveal that the sword was realistic-looking, but plastic nonetheless. "This is my toy sword," Koga started. He suddenly shot a nervous glance toward Kaede. "B-but I don't fight anybody with it…'cause fighting's for losers." Everyone made the loser sign on their foreheads.

"That's great, Koga," Kaede commented. He smiled and moved on. The demonstrations went smoothly this way for quite some time, all the way from Kanna's three word description ("my magic mirror") to Sango's full-blown written report on Hiraikotsu and its specs, including speed and angle capabilities. Soon, it was Kagome's turn.

"Okay, so today I brought my bow and arrow set." In one hand was the bow; in the other was the quiver. "I can-"

"Hey!" Kagome and the rest of the class looked curiously back at Kikyo. "That was my idea!"

"Huh?" Kagome answered.

"You stole my idea!" Kikyo snapped back at her.

"Why would I wanna do that?" Kagome continued, still a little confused.

Kikyo hopped out of her seat. "You knew I was going to bring my bow and arrow set, so you COPIED me!" She trembled on the word "copied."

"Nuh-uh," Kagome protested, "I picked my bow and arrow set since two months ago."

"Well, I picked _my _bow and arrow set since four months ago!" She held up four fingers.

"So? I still didn't copy your stupid idea."

"WHAT!" Kikyo was positively fuming. Kagome looked smug.

"That's enough, girls." Kaede decided to stop this now before it got too out of control. "It's okay if you both have the same thing. Really. Just continue with your presentations, and remember to be respectful." The girls mumbled a response.

Kagome continued as calmly as she could. "Like I was saying, I just started learning but I can already shoot really far!" And with that, she took an arrow and put it to the bow.

"Kagome! No!" Kaede yelled.

"It's okay, Miss Kaede, I'm just gonna shoot out the window." She pulled back and let the arrow fly. Several kids got up for a better view. The arrow sailed through the air for about 50 feet before it stuck itself in the ground. Polite clapping followed. Kagome bowed and returned to her seat, looking as smug as ever.

"Nicely done, Kagome," Kaede said while reaching into the fish bowl. "Miroku, you're,-" Kaede looked startled. "Kikyo, what are you doing?"

Kikyo didn't reply, only marched to the front of the class, placed an arrow to her bow, and shot out of the same window. The class grew silent for about two seconds before Miroku burst into tears.

"Waah! My turn, Miss Kaede! It's not fair!" he cried.

"I know, Miroku dear, I'll fix it. Now, Kikyo, it isn't your turn…" The class looked shocked as they stared out the window. Kaede sighed. _They weren't listening._

Out on the playground was Kikyo's arrow, stuck directly beside Kagome's. They had equal shots. Kagome blew a raspberry triumphantly while Kaede massaged her throbbing temples.

"I was holding back," Kikyo explained.

"Whatever."

"Well, there's only one way to settle this."

"How?"

Kikyo snapped her head to the right. "Inuyasha!"

"Wha?" Inuyasha snapped out of his slight stupor.

"Choose! Who's better, me or Kagome?" They both had their arms crossed. Inuyasha's face contorted with fear. From behind the girls, Miroku signaled for Inuyasha to run (and quickly).

"Uh…I gotta go to the bathroom," he blurted out, and zoomed out of his seat.

"I hope you've had your fun," Kaede said loud enough for everyone to hear, "because this show and tell is over."

"But Miss Kaede!" Miroku protested.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. Come on up here, Miroku." He gladly obliged.

"This is my dad's staff," Miroku said. The staff was twice as tall as he was. "It makes a jingling sound." He slammed the staff into the ground a few times, making that beloved jingling sound. "Jingle, jingle, jingle!" he joined in merrily. After he finished his song of joy, the room became awkwardly quiet. Miroku began to worry that his stunt had failed. That is, until Ayame jumped out of her seat.

"I don't know why, but that was so cool!" she said, not even attempting to hide her amazement.

"How do you do it?" Ginta and Hakkaku asked in unison. Soon, virtually the whole class joined in applause. Kaede couldn't believe her eyes; kindergarten never ceased to amaze her.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Miroku said excitedly as he nearly bounced back to his seat.

"Settle down, children, and please get your notebooks," Kaede said, now back at the front of the class again. There was shuffling of papers and still some slight murmuring. "Your assignment will be to write three things you liked about your favorite show and tell. But you can't be your own favorite!" The class groaned. "You may begin. Ah, just a moment, girls," Kaede said to Kikyo and Kagome, who were just about to start writing. "I have a special assignment for you." The two gulped.

Meanwhile, since the rest of the students were unable to write about them, the next choice was clear: Miroku, hands down. This phenomenon was spreading like wildfire. "I liked Miroku's staff because it was shiny, and it was the color gold, and it made a jingle sound. The end," wrote one student.

"You will have to write three things you liked…" Kaede started. The girls readied their pencils. "…about each other's show and tell." The complaints started immediately.

"But-"

"Ah ah ah! No complaints, no questions asked, just get started." Kaede left the girls gaping in shock.

Miroku absentmindedly tapped on his dad's staff while he thought. "Well, if I can't write about me, then…" He took a quick look around the room. "…I guess I liked Naraku's bee thingies."

"Really?" Naraku said, "because I thought you would hate them the most!"

"Is everyone finished?" Kaede asked. The children nodded. "So, who can tell me the moral of this story?" A few shaky hands went up.

"Um, show and tell is fun?"

"Possibly."

"We love a gold staff that jingles?"

"That's not exactly what I was looking for."

"Don't bring a bow and arrow to class?"

"You're getting closer."

"Then what is it, Miss Kaede?" the class chorused.

"Just this: writer's block makes for a sour ending! Class dismissed."

_Uh, yeah. Sorry 'bout the ending; I just didn't know a nice way to wrap it up. So guess what? I really have no idea what to write about next. I'll mull it over for a little while, so sit tight if there's another hiatus. Thank you!_


	5. The Apple Doesn't Come Close to the Tree

_I'd like to thank everyone that has waited for me during this hiatus. I really was in a rut to where I was taking this story (and my other one too), but now I've found some inspiration. Let's hope it lasts a while, right?_

**The Kindergarten Chronicles: The Apple Doesn't Come Close to the Tree**

All in Kaede's classroom were buzzing with excitement today. The room, usually only inhabiting the teacher and students, was now bursting with guests that were a little older and a little wiser. The children waved eagerly; the parents and guardians acknowledged their kids from their seats at the front of the room.

"Settle down everyone, please," Kaede coaxed. The class slowly quieted down. Kaede smiled and continued in a louder voice. "I'd like to welcome everyone to this year's Career Day. Many thanks go to the parents who have joined us today-"

"Hi Mommy!" Kagome blurted out.

"Hello, dear," Mrs. Higurashi answered kindly.

"Well, let's move right into the swing of things, shall we?" Kaede said, giving a wink to Kagome.

A tall man with long white hair went to the front of the class first. "Hello," he started, sounding bored, "My name is Inu no Taisho. I am Lord of the Western Lands." He paused for a second, unmoving. "Um, I've got a huge castle…" Inuyasha and Sesshomaru only exchanged a look.

Inu no Taisho continued. "…and many servants, who do my bidding…"

The class was silent.

"…um, and concubines…"

"What's that?" Miroku asked without missing a beat.

"Don't worry about that," Kaede piped up quickly, having flashbacks about other questions Miroku asked. "Please continue, sir."

Inu no Taisho nodded and turned his attention back to the class. He hesitated, seemingly at a loss for words. "…I can transform into a giant dog…"

"Ooh!" Five hands went up into the air right off the bat.

"Please save your questions for the end of the presentation!" Kaede yelled over the continuing chorus of _oohs _and _aahs_. The ruckus died down.

"…I have three swords, last time I counted…" The class was unresponsive. "…Made from my teeth…"

"No way!" The hands shot back up again.

"Children, please!" Kaede said. Groans resonated through the class.

"Those are my children, over there." Inu no Taisho turned to his two boys. "Hello, kids," he said evenly.

"Hello dad," Inuyasha and Sesshomaru mumbled to the floor.

"And…" Inu no Taisho regarded the room slowly, watching the several children hanging on the edges of their seats. "…That's about it," he concluded finally.

As soon as the words were out, the children pounced with their questions, too anxious to be controlled by Kaede any longer.

"Why didn't the tooth fairy take your tooth?" Hakkaku asked innocently.

"Because it's too big, stupid," Ginta retorted quickly. They both began to fight amongst themselves.

"Do you like to play fetch?" Kagome chimed in.

"And what's a concubine?" Miroku pressed.

"That's enough, Miroku." Kaede gave him a stern look. "Lord Taisho, thank you very much. You are free to leave." He didn't need to be told twice. Although his exit was quick, he still paused at the doorway to regard the room once more, shudder to himself, and then retreat completely from the classroom.

The next parent made her way swiftly to the front of the class, eager to start her presentation. She looked to Kaede first, who nodded, and then smiled at the children again.

"Hello, dears!" she began, "I'm Mrs. Higurashi. I'm a stay at home mother." She nodded in affirmation. The whole room waited for a continuation that never came. The children's eyes went from patient to confused, and they hesitantly raised their hands.

"Yes, Kagura?" Kaede said.

"So, you don't have a job?" Kagura asked bluntly. She looked as if she couldn't believe she had to ask such a ridiculous question.

"Sure!" Mrs. Higurashi answered with glee. "It _is_ a full-time job looking after Kagome and Sota." She motioned to her chair, where a small boy slept in a baby carrier. Kagura rolled her eyes, but dropped her questioning.

"But how do you get money?" Kanna asked. Mrs. Higurashi shrugged, her smile unwavering.

"Where's Kagome's daddy?" Inuyasha chimed in. Mrs. Higurashi shrugged again.

"How do you pack all that stuff in Kagome's bag?" Sango asked. Everyone knew that Kagome's yellow bag was always the biggest, and it strangely was never too cumbersome for her.

"It's made of space material," Mrs. Higurashi said quickly. She reached behind her and grabbed a large platter wrapped in aluminum foil. "Would you dears like some cookies?"

"Cookies?!" was the resounding answer. Every other student was now gripping the edge of their desks, eyeballing the platter greedily.

"We can have those at snack time. Thank you, Mrs. Higurashi." The proud mother nodded and returned to her seat.

The next parent was now front and center. He was in a monk's garb and carried a staff that the children easily recognized.

"Hey, kids. I'm Miroku's dad," he said with a wink. "I am a Buddhist monk, which means I pursue virtuous things and dedicate myself to the greater good…"

"Watch out; you're losing them," Kaede warned under her breath.

"Oh! Right," Miroku's dad caught on quickly. He searched for an attention-grabber. "A-and I have a cool staff!" He pounded it for effect. The children—still easily amused—applauded wildly.

"Can I hold your staff?" Koga asked quickly.

"Sorry, no-can-do, kiddo," Miroku's dad answered, "I only let Miroku hold my staff; it's part of his inheritance!" He turned to address Miroku. "And the other part of your inheritance is something I _know_ you're gonna love, kid, believe me." He chuckled to himself as he walked back to his seat.

It had finally come down to the last parents of Career Day. Both the man and the woman wore simple kimonos, but they had a very serious and professional look on their faces. The woman held a baby boy in her arms.

"We are Sango's parents," the man, her father, stated simply.

"We come from a village of demon exterminators," her mother continued. Kaede shifted uncomfortably in her seat. These parents should know that over half of her students were demons or of demon origin.

"Demon extermination is a family trade, so we are teaching Sango, and eventually our little Kohaku, the way of the taijiya." The mother poked her son's nose.

"We answer many calls of demon terrorization, and it's usually up to us to take care of the problem," Sango's father said.

"Which can be done in several ways," her mother added.

"There's burning…"

"Ripping, shredding…"

"Various poisons, traps…" Kaede watched in horror as several children turned pale or red in the face.

"And, of course, there's always the classic sword slashing." Kaede was on her feet now, but it was too late. Ayame, who had been quiet all day, burst into tears.

"Please don't kill me, Sango's mom!" she sobbed.

"T-thanks very much for your time." Kaede nodded at the two oblivious parents. They looked at Ayame, and then looked at each other.

"Whoops," they both said. They made a stealthy exit.

As Ayame's sobs quieted down, Kaede attempted to wrap things up. "So, class, who would like to tell me one thing they learned today?" Naraku's hand shot up; his lip was quivering.

"Yes, Naraku?"

He looked at Kaede for a long moment before wailing, "I don't wanna grow up!" Fat tears slid down his face.

"Me neither!" Ayame wailed with him, and soon she was crying again. Eventually, the whole class was crying uncontrollably and expressing fears of adulthood.

"Children! It's okay, really!" Kaede's voice was drowned out by the sobs. She reached for her last resort. "Cookies, anyone?"

_What a long overdue chapter. It's been here all along, just never completed, never posted. Feel free to send me "inspiring" (aka threatening) messages to keep me on track. Thanks for everyone's support!_


	6. Have a Heart!

_Two years. It has been…two…years. May I just say that college is a bitch? Well, after watching Inuyasha: The Final Act, I felt compelled to finish my fanfics, this story particularly. I just can't leave these little tykes in kindergarten limbo! So there will be five, maybe six more chapters of five-year-old fun. Hold on to your propeller hats, guys._

**The Kindergarten Chronicles: Have a Heart!**

The usually plain-looking kindergarten classroom was now brimming with paper decorations on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. Each student had construction paper in various shades of red, pink and white, along with craft supplies and a single brown paper bag taped to the front of their desks. The smell of chocolate and other candy was prominent in the air.

"We're going to spend today making valentines," Kaede began, "And then hand them out at the end of class. You each have a list of your classmates' names, so be sure to make a valentine for everyone! Understand, children?"

"Yes, Miss Kaede," came the group reply.

"I'll be here if you need any help," Kaede said with a smile, and then returned to her desk. The children immediately set to work. Idle chatter slowly settled into a calmer quiet as the children became more concentrated on making the perfect valentines. To most of them, better valentines meant better candy, so they had plenty of the proper motivation. For about five minutes they worked, before Miroku broke the silence:

"Miss Kaede! Miss Kaede, please help me cut out the shape of a heart!"

"Of course, dear," Kaede answered, and moved to get up from her desk.

"Can you help me too, Miss Kaede?" Ayame piped up quickly.

"Me too!" chorused a couple other voices from the back of the class.

"I'll get to all of you," Kaede said patiently, and walked to Miroku's desk first.

Sesshomaru viewed all of this with his usual indifferent demeanor. He looked at the board, where Kaede had drawn a large heart, and at a sheet of paper on his desk, which also had a picture of a heart. Here were two examples of the shape, not even mentioning the decorations around the room, and yet his classmates were clearly struggling. _This heart is a challenge,_ he thought, and with that fleeting thought, he made his mind up. Sesshomaru was going to make the perfect Valentine's Day heart, and he was _not _going to ask Miss Kaede, or anyone else for that matter, for help.

On the other side of the room, Koga turned to his two cohorts, a worried look on his face. "Hey guys, I know we're supposed to make these for everyone if we want candy, but I don't wanna give these to the girls and they think they can touch me or something." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "So what should I do?"

"You gotta do it anyway, boss!" Ginta said immediately, with Hakkaku nodding in agreement. "'Cause if you don't, you might get in trouble with Miss Kaede, and the girls will be really mad at you."

"Really mad?" Koga echoed a little fearfully.

"Really, _really_ mad," Ginta emphasized. "But if you don't want the girls to think you like them, just…" He thought it over for a moment. "Just give it to them now, and tell them you was fibbin' later. You know, after you eat the candy!"

"Perfect!" Koga said gleefully, and turned back to his desk to continue making valentines.

Meanwhile, Kagura was finishing her heart-shaped valentine after receiving assistance from Kaede. She added a white border, and then very carefully wrote her name in the middle with a purple crayon. After finishing, she held her heart up in the light. "There, it's done," she said with pride. Her handiwork got the attention of Naraku, who sat next to her.

"What's that?" Naraku asked, staring intently at her heart.

"…It's my Valentine's Day heart," Kagura answered cautiously.

"Oh," Naraku said flatly. A couple of seconds passed. "Can I have it?" he asked just as flatly. Kagura looked a little uncomfortable.

"Um, no Naraku, this one is for me, but here, I made yours already." She handed him a red folded piece of construction paper, also in the shape of a heart, but smaller than hers. "Happy Valentine's Day" was written on the front of it and on the inside was Naraku's name. Naraku beheld it with little interest before putting it on his desk and pointing at Kagura's heart again.

"I want that one," he declared, a look of determination in his eyes.

"Well you can't have this one, it's mine!" Kagura shot back stubbornly, and held the heart closer to her.

"Give it to me."

"I said no!"

The two were now having a heated staredown. Neither looked as if they were going to back down, but suddenly Naraku had an idea.

"Hey, is Kanna messing with your fan again?" he said, looking over Kagura's shoulder to where Kanna was sitting.

Kagura huffed, an irritated look spreading over her face. She turned to her sister. "I thought I told you that you can't touch-" She stopped mid-rant as she realized that her fan was on the floor next to her feet, right where she'd left it, and her sister Kanna was innocently making valentines, not even looking at anyone else, much less bothering them. While her guard was lowered, Naraku reached over and plucked Kagura's heart right out of her hands. She turned on Naraku with lightning-fast kid speed.

"Hey, you give that back!" Kagura squealed, reaching for her heart.

"No, it's mine now," Naraku said smugly, holding the heart over Kagura's head.

"Give it!"

"No, I like it. It's pretty. I'm keeping it," Naraku said casually and chuckled at Kagura's futile attempts to reclaim her heart.

"Give it back, or I'm telling!" Kagura threatened. Naraku's eyes narrowed.

"Hmm. Pick up my pencil first," he said, and pointed at the pencil that had dropped from his desk. Kagura looked at the pencil, then at Naraku.

"Fine," she said. She bent down and picked up the pencil, slammed it on Naraku's desk, then held her hand out. "Now give me my heart."

Naraku pretended as if he didn't hear her. "Go hit Inuyasha on the head, and I'll give it back."

Kagura growled, growing steadily impatient. She picked up her fan, marched up the row to where Inuyasha was working, and smacked him right between the ears.

"Ow! Hey, why'd you do that?" Inuyasha said, holding the now tender spot on his head. "I didn't do anything to you!"

"Sorry Inuyasha," Kagura said quickly, "but Naraku said he'd give me my heart back if I hit you."

Inuyasha angrily turned to face Naraku. "Just give her the stupid heart and leave me alone!"

Kaede, who had been watching the whole ordeal unfold and hoping that it would resolve itself, now knew that she would have to get involved. "Kagura, Naraku, what's going on here?" she asked.

"Naraku stole my heart!" Kagura blurted out first, "And he won't give it back, even though I made him his own valentine!"

"Naraku, dear, Kagura made you a valentine, so you have to give that one back," Kaede said softly. Naraku defiantly held on to the heart. Kagura and Kaede looked at him expectantly. He scrunched up his face, as if preparing to have a temper tantrum.

"Well fine! You want your heart, Kagura? Here it is!" Naraku took the heart, tore it into four pieces, and threw the pieces out of the nearest window.

In the three seconds of dead silence that occurred directly after this event, Sesshomaru set down his crayon and held up his now completed, perfect heart. _And all done without help,_ he though triumphantly. His victory was short-lived, however, as Kagura let out a wail that had the entire class flinching. She cried at full volume, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Miss Kaede! My heart!" was all Kagura could manage to say between sobs. "Miss Kaede!"

"Naraku, time out. That was completely out of line." Kaede pointed to the time-out corner, and Naraku trudged over there grumpily. He sat on the stool and indignantly crossed his arms. "I don't care; it was a stupid heart anyway," he mumbled mostly to himself.

"If you want to make another heart, Kagura, I'll be happy to help," Kaede said, attempting to offer some comfort.

"I'll try, Miss Kaede," Kagura said. She had stopped her loud sobbing but tears were still flowing freely. She turned to walk back to her desk, but was stopped short by the sound of someone clearing their throat. When she looked to see who it was, she found Sesshomaru. His eyes were glued to his desk, but in his outstretched hand he held out his heart—the heart he worked so diligently to make. Kagura stared wide-eyed at him. At first she only studied him silently, but slowly she reached out and took the heart from his hand.

"Thanks, Sesshomaru," Kagura said meekly. Sesshomaru said nothing. A moment passed before he turned to look at her.

"Will you stop crying now?" Sesshomaru asked in his usual monotone.

"Uh-huh," Kagura answered, nodding while wiping her face with her sleeve.

"Hn," was the short reply, and with that, Sesshomaru set to work on the rest of his valentines. Kagura, now beautifully distracted from her shredded heart, went back to her desk and showed Kanna the valentine she'd just received.

Meanwhile, most of the other students were putting the finishing touches on their valentines and starting to hand them out. Koga tried to hand his out as quickly as possible while Miroku carefully studied each name he wrote in order to give it to the right person. "S-ssss…" Miroku squinted at his sloppy handwriting. "San-go…oh! For Sango! Here ya go, Sango!" He cheerfully handed the valentine to her.

Sango opened up the valentine. On the inside were simply the words "Be my valentine," with two misspelled and crossed out versions of the word "valentine" sandwiched in the phrase. She looked at this and smiled. "Thanks, Miroku!" she said, and caught him in a big hug.

Miroku tensed a little at Sango's touch. "Whoa, Sango! Aren't you still afraid of the cooties?"

Sango let go of Miroku, still smiling. "Well, I was, but Kagome showed me something." She held up her hand and traced a couple of shapes on the back of it. "Circle, circle, dot, dot, now I got my cootie shots!"

Miroku's mouth went agape, along with Inuyasha's, who had been in earshot.

"Has it been that easy the whole time?" Inuyasha asked to no one in particular.

Sango shrugged. She turned back to Miroku and held out her hand. "Here," she said simply. In her palm rested a single Hershey Kiss.

"Candy!" Miroku exclaimed, and in one quick movement, snatched the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it in his mouth. Next to him, Koga was whispering with Ginta and Hakkaku again.

"I've gotta say something now, the girls are already moving in on us!" Koga nervously looked around the room at every potential female threat.

"Gotcha boss," Ginta said, "Just repeat after me." He motioned for Koga to get closer and then whispered something in his ear. Koga straightened up and astutely repeated what he'd been told:

"Excuse me! I have a…a announcement to make!" Koga said. His other classmates looked at him with curiosity. More words were whispered to Koga. "Girls, I just want you to know that…" He was fed more words. "Even though I made those valentines…" More words. "I…I like you that much." Koga gave a firm nod, then the color left his face as he realized what he'd just said.

"Koga! No!" Ginta wailed.

"He's a goner," Hakkaku groaned.

"You were supposed to say 'I _don't_ like you that much!"

"Duck and cover, Ginta!" Hakkaku said quickly, and pulled him out of the way as the population of girls closed in on Koga.

"You are just so cute, Koga!" Kagome said. She was to first to grab him in a hug. Soon, she was followed by most of the other girls in a very big, very female group hug. Koga gasped for air that wasn't yet contaminated by girl germs. Finding this impossible, he tried the only resort he had left.

"Circle…circle…dot…dot…"

* * *

_I'd forgotten how good it feels to complete a chapter! If any old followers of this story come and review this chapter, you can go ahead and chew my ass. I deserve it. Well, see you in two years! (kidding)_


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